What is Human Trafficking

What is Human Trafficking and How does it Happen?

Many tend to think that an individual is forced into sex trafficking by being forcefully abducted or drugged – although this does happen – the more common scenario involves a trafficker tricking a vulnerable person into trusting them by forming a relationship. The trafficker may pretend to be kind or in love in order to lure a vulnerable person into sex trafficking (this type of trafficker is sometimes called a “Romeo Pimp” or “Boyfriend Pimp”). 
​
The process often consists of luring, grooming, coercion and manipulation, and ultimately sexual exploitation [13]. In this section we refer to the trafficked individual as ‘she’ and the trafficker as ‘he’ as this is often the case; however, both traffickers and trafficked individuals can be any gender.

Luring: 

Sex Traffickers tend to connect with people directly or through mutual friends or acquaintances. This can occur anywhere, especially where youth hang out: schools, shopping malls, parties, fast food restaurants, youth facilities/shelters, the internet, etc [6].

Snapchat and Instagram are noted by Waterloo Regional Police as common tools used by traffickers. Social media can be relatively anonymous, so if a trafficker targets an individual online, sends them a private message and they are not receptive, the trafficker can easily slip back into anonymity and look for someone else to target. ​

​Some traffickers get teens to recruit in high schools by befriending the potential victim [13], or they may set up bogus job interviews to make contact with unsuspecting, vulnerable people [14]. Recruitment can also happen at parties and social gatherings; in some cases, girls who are working with traffickers or girls who are trafficked themselves are forced to recruit at parties (in other words, victims are forced to victimize others). The trafficker starts by forming a connection with someone and collects as much information as possible about them to use against them later on [13].

Grooming: 

The trafficker may make a girl feel like a princess and she thinks that she is in love and has found the man of her dreams. He often makes false promises of providing things like a family or a home. He may make her feel special by taking her out shopping, to get her hair and nails done, etc. They may engage in physical intimacy and often she is led to believe that he is her boyfriend [13].

Coercion and Manipulation: 
Once a strong sense of attachment and dependency is formed he starts sending mixed messages. By shifting between acting caring and being threatening, he maintains psychological control [14]. She feels both loyal and intimidated [14]. He begins to ask her to do sexual acts that she may be uncomfortable with or to pay her for sexual acts – gradually desensitizing her to these actions and getting her used to the idea that sex comes with a price.

He may use the information he gained about her to maintain control (e.g. reminding her that he knows where her family members live, etc). She grows more and more dependent on him and feels like she has to follow the rules he sets out [9]. He may move her away from her home to hotels/motels [15], ensuring that she is disoriented and without resources [14].

Exploitation: 
Her self-esteem is completely shattered. He threatens her and her loved ones, using the information he knows about her [13]. She feels that she owes him and is obligated to contribute financially. She is withstanding emotional, mental and often-times physical abuse all resulting in intimidation and control. She is forced to perform sex acts for customers, and she sees little or none of the profits. She is alone, isolated and has no control of her situation and feels that there is no way of getting out. She is trapped in a life of exploitation [13].